Teridax (Earth-4001)
Teridax, usually known as simply "Makuta" or the "Makuta of Metru Nui," was the leader of the Brotherhood of Makuta after overthrowing Miserix. During the final battle on Bara Magna, he was finally killed by Mata Nui. History The history of Makuta Teridax is the same as his mainstream counterpart. Personality Makuta Teridax was portrayed as the ultimate personification of pure evil. He was arrogant and proud, desiring praise and devotion and becoming jealous when others got it instead of him. At the same time, though, he did not seem to consider himself evil, rationalizing his actions as being for the good of the universe. Upon being called a monster for his actions in the Great Cataclysm, he asked "I, a monster? For knowing my spirit brother, Mata Nui, required a good, long rest after his many labors? For offering my benevolent leadership to the Matoran in his absence? For saving Metru Nui from the threat of Nidhiki and Krekka?" - leaving out that Mata Nui had not agreed to "rest" and that the Dark Hunters were only in the city at Teridax's invitation. Despite Makuta's apparent self-justification, series writer Greg Farshtey has described Teridax as a sociopath: "He has no conscience, he has no ability to feel remorse, and he feels no emotional connection to any other living thing. He would Greg Farshtey was speaking about the "Makuta ruling the world" hypothesis h''ave been benevolent to the Matoran if he needed something from them, and then the next moment, he might have killed half a dozen just to break up the day." Like many of his fellow Makuta, Teridax displayed traits of extreme sadism and cruelty, taking considerable pleasure in the suffering and the deaths of others. One of his more prominent demonstrations of this trait was when he taunted Toa Takanuva over the death of his friend Jaller, calling him a failure and blaming him for his friend’s death before proceeding to challenge him to a game of Kohlii, calling it “his next great failure” and being willing to kill many of the Matoran in front of him, chuckling in amusement at the thought. In fact he was known to cultivate lifeforms purely for the eventual purposes of killing them. His sadism was such that having overthrown Makuta Miserix, he chose to taunt and mock him before using Shadow magic to trap him consciously in a painting rather than killing him so that he could watch helplessly as Teridax carried out his plan. He later demonstrated similar behaviour whilst using his mental powers to destroy the mind of Karzahni. Another Makuta trait Teridax possessed was a dry, sardonic sense of humour. A narcissist, Teridax envied the admiration that the Great Spirit received from the other races of the universe and identified himself as the living embodiment of destruction. He boasted that he had no true allies because he had no equals and demonstrated an unshakable belief that it was his right to take control of creation and remake it in his own image; his ego was such that he chose to refer to himself as "''the" Makuta, as opposed to using his given name. Upon taking over the Matoran Universe, he bragged "I AM the Universe!" Speaking to Vakama while pretending to be Nokama, Makuta revealed his decidedly elitist perspective when he said, "We Matoran have to trust that those with more power know what is right for us all." When Vakama questioned whether wisdom came to Toa along with power, "Nokama" continued: "I was talking about real power, Vakama. Not the raindrops and wisps of breeze Toa produce. The power to shape the future ... the power to rule ... the power to change the lives of others for all time ... that is what I mean. ... It makes no difference what others want. They will live in whatever world their superiors create for them, because it's all they know how to do. If Mata Nui had not wanted them herded, he would not have made them so easily led." Greg has also said: "I think there was a time when Makuta was inspired and truly did want to help others -- but for the wrong reasons. I think that, just as Matau initially saw being a Toa as all about the fame and the glory, Makuta saw what he was doing as something that would earn him the gratitude and devotion of Matoran. And it did, to a point, but nowhere near what they felt for Mata Nui. And that sparked jealousy and resentment in him that only grew worse as time went on." Powers & Abilities Although once biomechanical, like almost every other Makuta, Teridax later evolved into a form that was, as Thok put it, "just armor and energy - no organics, not anymore." Makuta needed his armor in order to hold his Antidermis energy together; if the armor was damaged, then the Antidermis would leak out and weaken him. Since his armor was completely destroyed, Teridax then existed merely as a mass of energy; but should too much time pass this energy would dissipate and he would die. One of Teridax's most commonly-used powers was his ability to shapeshift, allowing him to shape his armor to any form he desired. The only limitation on this power was that when changing into a bigger, stronger form, he couldn't do it quickly unless he absorbed power and mass from somewhere. If what he absorbed was a living being, then their body was incorporated into his and their mind and spirit utterly destroyed (though not always immediately - Teridax blamed his defeat in Metru Nui on having to suppress the minds of Nidhiki, Krekka, and Nivawk at the same time: "I disagreed with something I ate"). In his energy form, Makuta still had some limited shapeshifting power, capable of making his energy liquid, gaseous or even viral. He controlled the element of shadows, allowing him to manipulate shadow energy into different shapes such as spheres, beams, or hands. This power was strengthened by his Kanohi Kraahkan, the Mask of Shadows, which could fill others with fear and anger. However, due to the fact that his powers were based on shadow; light-based attacks against him proved to be especially effective. In addition to the powers described above, he also had 40 other powers. The strength of a stage-six Kraata should be considered the bare minimum when compared to a Makuta's strength. After Teridax possessed Mata Nui's body, he controlled the entire Matoran Universe. Finally, Makuta possessed a genius-level intellect that surpassed that of some of the most intelligent beings alive, save Tren Krom, nearing him to omniscience. *'Accuracy' - Could strike the smallest target at a great distance or in any environment or condition. *'Adaptation' - Instantly adapts to take maximum advantage of any condition or situation. *'Anger' - Had the power to turn even the Toa Nuva against one another in anger. *'Chain Lightning' - Controlled devastating bolts of chain lightning that leaped between multiple targets. *'Chameleon' - Had the ability to become completely invisible in any environment. *'Confusion' - Extended proximity could reduce even a Toa Nuva to mindless babbling. *'Cyclone' - Had the power to create and control powerful cyclones at will. *'Darkness' - Had the power to consume all light in a large area; only Takanuva's light was stronger. *'Density Control' - Complete control over own density and that of any object in physical contact. *'Disintegration' - Had the power to reduce even protodermis to dust. *'Dodge' - Impossible to physically strike, no matter how swiftly or powerful. *'Elasticity' - Could stretch incredible lengths in the blink of an eye. *'Electricity' - Powerful electrical field could be controlled to surround or stun distant objects or creatures. *'Fear' - Had the power to bring fear to the hearts of even the Toa Nuva. *'Fire Resistance' - Strong enough to withstand the heat of Tahu Nuva’s magma swords. *'Gravity' - Used gravity control to crush any object in visual range. *'Heat Vision' - Powerful long-range heat vision that could ignite any object within sight. *'Hunger' - Had enough strength to drain the energy of a Toa Nuva. *'Ice Resistance' - Impervious even to the cold of Kopaka Nuva’s ice blade. *'Illusion' - Could create and control multiple realistic illusions anywhere within sight. *'Insect Control' - Powerful enough to control and command an entire hive of Nui Rama. *'Intangibility' - Could go in and out of a ghost form. *'Invulnerability' - Absolutely invulnerable to physical harm of any kind. *'Kraata Creation' - Could create Kraata at anytime. *'Laser Vision' - Fired powerful eye-beams that could burn through solid protodermis. *'Magnetism' - Possessed magnetic powers strong enough to tear a slab of protodermis in two. *'Mind Reading' - Powerful enough to invade the mind of a Turaga or Toa Nuva. *'Molecular Disruption' - Had the power to utterly disintegrate any inorganic object with a touch. *'Plant Control' - Had total control over any plants in the area. *'Plasma' - Had the power to instantly melt any object into vapor. *'Poison' - Dangerously toxic even to a Toa Nuva. *'Power Scream' - Could shatter stone and could be heard all across the island. *'Quick Healing' - Almost indestructible; could be used to heal the injuries of others. *'Rahi Control' - Had absolute control over every living Rahi in the near area. *'Shattering' - Could reduce even Protodermis to rubble. *'Silence' - Aura of silence was powerful enough to temporarily deafen a Toa Nuva. *'Sleep' - Had the power to instantly put an entire village into deep sleep. *'Slowness' - Able to rob even a Toa Nuva of all speed as long as it remained nearby. *'Sonics' - Blasted distant objects with powerful waves of sonic force. *'Stasis Field' - Had the power to freeze a creature in near-permanent stasis through eye contact. *'Teleportation' - Had the power to teleport itself through any wall or other structure. *'Vacuum' - Had the power to create gale-force winds or instantly reverse their flow. *'Weather Control' - Could manifest powerful, dangerous thunderstorms and blizzards at will. Of these abilities, the only powers that Teridax could use when in his Antidermis form were the mental ones; he needed to have a physical body to access the rest. Via the Matoran Universe Robot After taking control over the Matoran Universe, Makuta could access the powers of the Great Spirit Robot. *'Creation' - Can create almost anything. *'Control' - Can control the Matoran Universe. **'Weather' - Can control the weather. **'Earth' - Can control the ground. *'Stars' - Can change the appearance of the stars in the night sky. *'Destruction' - Can destroy anything in the Matoran Universe. *'Sight' - Can see almost all things going on in the Matoran Universe. *'Teleportation' - Can teleport any being in the Matoran Universe to any other location in the Matoran Universe. *'Flight' - Can fly, with the help of the Red Star. Known Forms Due to his shapeshifting power, Teridax fought against Toa in several forms (chronological order): *Turaga Dume: Teridax secretly kidnapped Metru Nui's leader, Turaga Dume, and impersonated him for about a year and a half. This deception was not discovered until the Great Cataclysm. *Ultimate Dume: Created after Teridax absorbed Nidhiki, Krekka, Nivawk, and Metru Nui's power supply into his body. He was turned into a giant, skeletal form with a large fanged mouth, enormous claws, and wings. In the movie he is just simply his Shadow titan form with Nivawk's wings. *Matoran: When first confronting the Toa Mata, Teridax took the form of a Matoran who wore an infected Hau, and whose entire body appeared to also be infected. He did this to confuse the Toa, claiming that he was "that which the Toa had sworn to protect." After briefly speaking with them, Makuta quickly switched into a more formidable form. *Void form: This was a swirling vortex of mechanical pieces that used tentacles to attack. At the center of the black mass was the disembodied head and mask of Makuta's previous form. *Shadow Titan form: This is Teridax's most known form, from when he challenged Toa Takanuva to a mock Kolhii match. It was that of a large, armored being with glowing red eyes that wielded the Staff of Shadows, and was the only form to feature the Kanohi Kraahkan in its true shape. *Antidermis: After his body was destroyed in the battle with Takanuva, Teridax existed only as a mass of energy. After telepathically influencing a gang of thieving Skakdi called Piraka who were raiding his lair, he shifted his energy to a viral form that the Piraka collected and called "Antidermis" (though most of the Piraka were unaware of the virus' true nature). Matoran infected by Antidermis were enslaved to the Piraka's will, similar to how infected Kanohi Masks once enslaved their wearers; while Brutaka temporarily became stronger and fiercer when he absorbed the virus. Antidermis had two notable weaknesses: infected Matoran could be cured with energized Protodermis, and the Toa Inika's innate electrical energies protected them from infection. *Matoro: During the Toa Mahri's descent into the Pit, Teridax managed to possess Matoro's spiritless body when the Toa used his astral projection power. Teridax was later driven out by the rest of the team. *Maxilos: To make sure everything was going as planned, Teridax took over the body of a Maxilos robot. In the end the robot guard was nearly destroyed, and so Teridax left Maxilos. *Great Spirit: When Mata Nui was reawakened, it was Teridax's mind which was inside his body. Teridax imprisoned Mata Nui in the Ignika and launched him out into space. And so, Teridax became the ruler of the universe, controlling everything from Mata Nui's body. Experiments & Rahi This is a list of notable objects and Rahi created by Teridax. *Karzahni (Plant) *Morbuzahk *Spear of Fusion Trivia *Most beings in the Matoran Universe referred to him as "The Makuta," although he was more formally known as "The Makuta of Metru Nui" until his original name was revealed in the 2008 storyline - even then, he was rarely referred to by the name, except by fellow Makuta and a handful of others. *According to Greg Farshtey, Teridax was to take over the Great Spirit Robot and Mata Nui would take over another Robot, but the Makuta's evil intentions caused him to take over the robot early and misuse it. 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